Complete description

Covering both the internal and external incubation of offspring, this book provides a biology-rich survey of the natural history, ecology, genetics, and evolution of pregnancy-like phenomena. From mammals and other live-bearing organisms to viviparous reptiles, male-pregnant fishes, larval-brooding worms, crabs, sea cucumbers, and corals, the world's various species display pregnancy and other forms of parental devotion in surprisingly multifaceted ways. An adult female (or male) can incubate its offspring in a womb, stomach, mouth, vocal sac, gill chamber, epithelial pouch, backpack, leg pocket, nest, or an encasing of embryos, and by studying these diverse examples from a comparative vantage point, the ecological and evolutionary-genetic outcomes of different reproductive models become fascinatingly clear. John C. Avise discusses each mode of pregnancy and the decipherable genetic signatures it has left on the reproductive structures, physiologies, and innate sexual behaviors of extant species. By considering the many biological aspects of gestation from different evolutionary angles, Avise offers captivating new insights into the significance of "heavy" parental investment in progeny. Top page

General info

Publisher & Imprint: Columbia University Press

City: New York

Pages: 346

More info: height 229 mm width 152 mm weight 454 gr thickness 23 mm

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Age recommended: Professional and scholarly

Subject Indexing & Classification Dewey:(DC23) 573.67 Library of Congress Subject: Evolution (Biology)

Departments: Animal reproduction;

Record updated at: 17 May, 2013 time: 19:04

Summary Evolutionary Perspectives on Pregnancy PrefacePart I: Distribution and Diversity of PregnancyChapter 1. One Generation Inside AnotherThe Sexual LifecycleOntogenetic and Evolutionary Gradations of PregnancyViviparous Pregnancy in the Reproductive TimelineHeterochronySome Unorthodox Routes to Internal PregnancySexual Inequalities and Female Authority Over ReproductionOther Sexual Asymmetries Related to Biological ParenthoodEvolutionary ReconstructionsSummaryChapter 2. Vertebrate Live-Bearers: The Borne and the BornViviparityEvolutionary OriginsDevelopmental SequencesTrophic Relationships Between Mother and FetusThe Cast of Viviparous VertebratesSummaryChapter 3. Vertebrate Alternatives to Standard PregnancyOviparity: The Borne and the HatchedThe Cast of Oviparous VertebratesIntermediate Conditions and Evolutionary TransitionsSummaryChapter 4. Nonvertebrate BroodersThe Cast of PlayersEvolutionary TransitionsConflicts Promoted by BroodingGenetic Parentage AssessmentsSummaryChapter 5. Human Pregnancy in Mythology and in Real LifeConception and ContraceptionExtracorporeal FertilizationSuperfetationTwinning or Multibirth PregnancyEctopic PregnancyFrom Preterm Labor to Prolonged PregnancySpontaneous AbortionInduced Abortion and InfanticideCesarean SectionPrecocious PubertyStandard Vaginal DeliveryThe PlacentaMenopauseMale PregnancySummaryPart II: Evolutionary Ramifications of PregnancyChapter 6. Natural Selection During Mammalian PregnancyDelayed ImplantationPolyembryonyDizygotic TwinningCooperation and Conflict Within the Nuclear FamilyEvolutionary Conflict in Mother-Offspring RelationsOther Categories of ConflictSummaryChapter 7. Sexual Selection and Piscine Pregnancy"Anisogamy, Sexual Selection, and Animal Mating Behaviors"Categories of Sexual SelectionFemale Pregnancy and Traditional Female ChoiceInternal Male PregnancyExternal PregnancySummaryChapter 8. Pregnancy in a Comparative LightSexual Selection and Multiple Mating by the Pregnant GenderNatural Selection Stemming from Pregnancy and BroodingSummaryEpilogueAppendix: Molecular-Genetic Parentage AnalysesGlossaryReferences CitedIndex Top page

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